The present invention relates to a foldable crutch and, more particularly, to a crutch that can be extended or folded and that provides easy adjustment, assembling stability, and wider applications.
Walking, aids include walking sticks, forearm crutches, underarm crutches, etc. FIG. 13 shows a conventional underarm crutch including a leg portion 1′, a connecting frame 2′, a pad 3′, and a handgrip 4′. A soft tip 11′ is attached to a lower end of the leg portion 1′. The connecting frame 2′ includes two side bars 21′. The pad 3′ is fixed to upper ends of the side bars 21′. The upper section of the leg portion 1′ is fixed to lower ends of the two side bars 21′. The handgrip 4′ is interconnected between intermediate portions of the two side bars 21′. Thus, a user can place his or her armpit on the pad 3′ while gripping the handgrip 4′. The tip 11′ forms a support when contacting with the ground.
However, the above underarm crutch has several disadvantages. Firstly, the underarm crutch has a considerable length larger than the spacing between the armpit of the user to the ground, which is inconvenient to storage and transportation in a car. Secondly, the soft tip 11′ provides an unsatisfactory shock absorbing effect, failing to provide comfort use. Thirdly, the pad 3′ and the handgrip 4′ are difficult to adjust in height and, thus, cannot be used by different users. Lastly, the user must securely hold the pad 3′ by the armpit or securely grip the handgrip 4′ to avoid the underarm crutch from falling off the arm of the user. However, falling off of the underarm crutch still occurs. To solve the above disadvantages, Taiwan Utility Model No. M266902 disclose a crutch including an upper rod unit, a lower rod unit, and a locking portion for rapidly assembling and separating the upper and lower rod units. An armpit pad is mounted to a top end of the upper rod unit. The upper rod unit includes a handgrip at an appropriate location. An end of the lower rod unit is coupled by the locking portion to an end of the upper rod unit opposite to the armpit pad. The locking portion includes a at least one jacket, at least one insertion tube that can be inserted into the at least one jacket, and at least one buckle annularly disposed on an outer edge of the at least one jacket. The at least one jacket is mounted around the end of the upper rod unit opposite to the armpit pad. The at least one insertion rod is mounted around an end of the lower rod unit that is coupled to the upper rod unit. The at least one insertion rod can be inserted into the at least one jacket to couple the upper rod unit and the lower rod unit together. Furthermore, the buckle can be rotated to a tightening position securing the upper and lower rod unit together and a loosening position permitting the upper and lower rod units to disengage from each other. However, the assembly and folding requires rotation of the buckle. Furthermore, the upper and lower rod units can still wobble or even disengage from each other when the buckle is not tightened. Furthermore, the upper and lower rod units, when disengaged from each other, are not securely connected, failing to provide folding integrity.
Taiwan Utility Model No. M442839 discloses a crutch having a spring mounted to the bottom end of the center post to provide a buffering elasticity. However, the spring and corresponding components increase the costs in the components and assemblage. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0206348 discloses a crutch including a flexible limb to provide improved comfort use. However, the flexible limb could bend excessively when subject to a larger force, leading to a great change in the length of the crutch and adversely affecting the use safety. If the flexible limb is made of a more rigid material to reduce the deformation, the buffering effect and the use comfort are sacrificed.